Machine for cutting soles for boots and shoes



I i www I Ma-QM N4 PETERS. PHOTo-UTNOGRAFNER, WASHINGTONZ D C,

ELIJAH D. JOHNSON, JR., OF AUGUSTA, MAINE.

MAM-"HNE FOlIl. CUl'TlNG SOLES FOR BOTS AND SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. llflllliii, dated November 15, 1864.

To all who-m it may concern:

Beit known that I, ELIJAH D. JOHNSON, Jr., of Augusta, in the county of Kennebec and State of Maine, have invented an Improved Machine for Cutting Soles from Sheets of Leather; and I do hereby declare the same to be fully described in the following specification and represented in the accompanying drawings, of which- Figure l is a top view, Fig. 2 a side elevation, Fig. 3 an end elevation, and Fig. 4 a longitudina-l and vertical section., of the said machine.

The nature of my invention consists in a combination for intermittently revolving the sole-cutter, and the arrangement of the same, and certain mechanism for estopping the said sole-cutter after each of its semi-revolutions; also, in aconibination for operating the gage, by which theposition ofa sheet of leather to be reduced to soles is determined on the bed preparatory to each upward movement of the latter toward the sole-cutter.

In the drawings, A denotes the frame of the machine, B being the movable platform thereof, on which the leather is supported, and from which it is to be moved toward and underneath the knife or sole-cutter in order to be cut thereby.

U is a cutter-stock which carries a knife or cutteLD, the said stock being aixed at its middle to a vertical shaft, E, for revolving such stock. Under the cutter is a bed or block, F, of wood, supported in a movable carrier or frame, G, which is so applied to vertical guides a a as to be capable ofbeing moved thereon or either toward or away from the knife, such movements being eii'ected by a set of toggles, H, a pitman,I, and a crank, K, the said crank being tired on the inner end of a shaft, b, which receives its motion from a driving-shaft, o, by means of gears d e applied to them respectively.

The shaft b has an arm or cam, j', projecting from it, and having a roller, g, applied to one side of it. This roller is to act against the lower arm of a lever, la, which is arranged as shown in the drawings, and at its top is jointed to the connection-bart' of a toothed rack, 7o. The said rack engages with a pinion, l, which fits loosely, and so as to be able to be turned freely on the sole-cutter shaft E, and carries a spring draw-pawl, m, which engages with a ratchet, a, fixed on the head of the shaft E. By means of the lever h and the rollerg of the cam j' the rack 7c will be retracted during each revolution of the shaft b, the forward movement of the said rack being produced by a spring, g3, extending from the frame A to the upper arm of the lever la. The reciprocating rectilinear movements of the rack k produce a reciprocating semi-rotary movement of the pinion Z which, by means of the draw-pawl and ratchet, produces the intermittent semi-rotative movements of the cuttershaft.

A catch-wheel, m, is fixed on the shaft E, and operates with a lever-catch, a, which is supported on a fulcrum, of, and has an elevating-spring, p, applied to it and the frame A, the same being as seen in Fig. 3. There is a rod, q, jointed to the outer arm of the levercatch a, and also to one end of a lever, r, such lever, 1', being supported by a fulcrum, s, and furnished with a friction-roller, t, at its opposite end. During its revolution the cam f will strike against the periphery of the roller t, and move the lever in such manner as to cause the lever-catch a to be thrown `Jut of action on the catch-wheel m. so as to enable the cutter-shaft E to be revolved. The said catch-wheel is shown in top view in Fig. 5 and in side view in Fig. 6, it being provided on each of two opposite sides of it with a stop, a, and an inclined plane, c, they being formed and arranged as shown in the said Figs. 5 and 6. The catch, in order to estop the cuttershaft E, should enter the notch or space w, which is between the stop u and the inclined plane o.

A gage, L, lis fixed on the top of a liV-piece or supporter, U, in such a manner as to be adjustable with respect to the knife or cutter, or, in other words, so as to be capable of being moved either toward or away from such cutter and afterward being iixed in position, this latter being determined by a set-screw, zr. This 'iF-piece is supported on a helical spring, y, placed within a tubular post, e, which projects upward from a shelf, a', projecting from the bed-carrier G. A rod, b', extends downward from the supporter U and goes through a stationary cross-bar, c, and has a screw, el',

cut on it. A nut, c', is screwed on the screw of a right-angular lever, lo, whose opposite end turns on a i'ulcrum, i', supported by the shelf a. There is a stationary post or tripper, 7d, projecting upward from the bar c and through a hole in the shelfl a and against the lever h, the Whole being as seen in Fig. 3.

The tripper or post 7c is provided with an adjustingrcrew, l', and two nuts, m a', by

` means of which the degree of its projection above the bar c can be adjusted as circumstances may require. While the block is in the act of being elevated or moved toward the cutter, the spring-catch j" will be caused to catch upon the stud of the supporter u, and it will hold the gage or prevent it from rising above the upper surface of the bed-block long enough for the sole that may be cut by the cutter to be passed from underneath it and discharged over the gage, which having taken place, the catch will be thrown oft the stud, so as to allow the spring` of the gage to elevate the gage a short distance above the top of the bed-block in order that the leather from which the next sole is to be cut may be.

pressed up to the gage. It is by the pressu:e ofthe lever h against the top of the post vlc during a descent of the bed-block that the catch f will be forced oft' the stud.

Within the cutter there is a spring discharger or plunger, o, which expels the sole from the cutter.

I do not claim as my invention a sole-cutting machine having its cutter-stock and bed operated, as herein described; but

What in the above specitied machine I do claim as my invention or improvements is as follows:

l. The combination for intermittently revolving the sole-cutter, the said combination consisting or the Wiper or armf, projecting from a shaft, b, and provided With a roller, g, the lever IL, the rack 7c, the pinion l, the ratchet u, the pawl m, and the spring g2, the whole being arranged and applied together and to the frame A and the shaft of the cutter-stock, in manner and so as to operate substantially as hereinbefore described.

2. The arrangement of the lever i', the rod q, thelever-catch n, the springp, and the catch- Wheel m with the cutter-shaft E and the mechanism, as described, for .rotating such shaft, substantially as specified.

3. The combination for operating the gage L, the same consisting not only ofthe adjust` able gagesupporter U and its elevatingspring y, but of the spring-catchf, its lever b', and the tripper or post 7c', the whole being applied together and to the gage, the bedblock carrier, and a stationary cross-bar, c',

substantially in manner and so as to operate as specified.

ELIJAH D. JOHNSON, JR.

Witnesses:

lt. H. EDDY, F. P. HALE, Jr. 

